Three radio theatre scripts were produced using the synthesized oral histories of Douglas County's elder residents. The oral histories had been gathered earlier as part of the Minnesota Historical Society's oral history project to preserve the stories of Minnnesota's Greatest Generation. The topics for the scripts were: the Great Depression, World War II and the post-war economic Boom. Each script was vetted by knowledgeable content experts and the information presented is historically accurate.
The goal of this protect is to protect the water quality of the Mississippi River at Winona, MN through the installation of a downtown Winona parking lot rain garden.
The downtown Chanhassen stormwater best management practice (BMP) retrofit assessment project will reduce watershed phosphorus loads to Rice Marsh Lake and improve the water quality in downstream Lake Riley, impaired for excess nutrients. This project will identify innovative BMP retrofit opportunities that target soluble phosphorus and promote infiltration and groundwater recharge within this highly-developed area. The downtown Chanhassen BMP retrofit assessment project will be performed in partnership with the City of Chanhassen.
There are currently more than 21,000 miles of drainage ditches and many thousands of miles of subsurface tile located throughout Minnesota and overseen by over 100 different local drainage authorities. Historically public records of these drainage systems have been maintained primarily in hard copy following differing protocols depending on local requirements. However, this antiquated approach limits the usability and accessibility of public drainage records creating various challenges for drainage management efforts.
This project will identify and prioritize opportunities to implement a multipurpose drainage management plan that will provide adequate drainage capacity, reduce peak flows and flooding and reduce erosion and sediment loading, improving water quality to the West Branch Rum River.
Mine stockpiles are unproductive due to soil deficiencies of organic matter, nutrients, and soil organisms, which are essential to supporting healthy plant growth, diversity, and succession. Waste products, including biosolids, composts, and dredged materials, have the potential to be used to address some of these deficiencies and make the lands productive again.
The Otter Tail River serves as the main drinking water supply for the city of Fergus Falls. The community recognizes it as a valuable resource which needs to be protected. The lower reach of the Otter Tail River is listed as being impaired for turbidity(muddiness).
The Drinking Water Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) program identifies environmental contaminants for which current health-based standards currently do not exist or need to be updated, investigate the potential for human exposure to these chemicals, and develop guidance values for drinking water. Contaminants evaluated by CEC staff include contaminants that have been released or detected in Minnesota waters (surface water and groundwater) or that have the potential to migrate to or be detected in Minnesota waters.
This project will quantify and qualify the effectiveness of herbicide treatments and native plant re-establishment at Duck Lake through systematic vegetative surveys pre and post herbicide application and following mid-summer die-off of curly-leaf pondweed. The data and analysis will ultimately be used in the development of TMDLs, implementation and protection strategies for other lakes in the Middle Minnesota Major Watershed.
Duluth women who gave birth prior to WW II were interviewed about their experiences. Birth locations, attitudes, techniques, labor support and new baby care were the focus for the questions. The interviews were transcribed into Microsoft Word and PDF documents. The documents are to be used by the applicant organization and other interested groups to aid mother and labor support and for other public outreach.
The purpose of the project is to fill critical data gaps - this data will provide a foundation for future development of watershed models, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports and the creation of a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report.
to construct 30 miles of beginner/intermediate natural surface singletrack trail purpose built for mountain biking at Lester Park, Mission Creek, Piedmont, and Brewer Park areas of Duluth
Support from the Minnesota Cultural Legacy funds will allow the Duluth Children’s Museum to address needs in three critical program initiatives. The museum will: 1. Strengthen the AIRSS (amateur radio on the international space station) club and provide critical materials, supplies, and staff leadership; 2. Engage 300 area students in a national program entitled Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP); and 3. Offer a new exhibit entitled Mysteries of the Mayan Medallion from mid-September to mid-December 2014.
The goal of the American Indian Family Center is to create an Early Childhood Montessori Language Immersion Program to offer to American Indian Families living in Saint Paul and the east metro area. This grant will recruit and select candidates for each training opportunity (both the Montessori Teacher and Assistant), train the candidates in both models (Montessori and language immersion), and ultimately place the candidates in programs that are committed to offering the model for early learners.
Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment raises revenue for Clean Water, Outdoor Heritage, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. Libraries are beneficiaries of a portion of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Funding.
The goal of this project is to create a contact strategy for community/landowner opportunities, obstacles, and opinions on land management and water quality that will result in the identification of restoration and protection strategies for the East Fork Des Moines River watershed.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
Many of the aquifers that are located under Otter Tail County are susceptible to contamination from nitrates and other water soluble contaminants due to the coarse grained soils of the area. These aquifers are used by municipalities and rural residents. One of the common agricultural practices in the area that can have an effect on these aquifers is agricultural irrigation. Over application of irrigation can directly lead to leaching of nutrients that can contaminate our groundwater resources.
The Minnesota Historical Society Press(MHS Press) converted more than 125 MHS Press/Borealis Books titles to digital formats for multiple e-book readers, including the Kindle, the Nook, the Sony E-reader and the Apple iPad, allowing us to meet the needs of not only young, tech-savvy readers, but also users in the over-50 age bracket who have been among the first adopters of e-reader technologies.
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been decimating ash throughout the Great Lake States and is currently advancing into Minnesota, threatening the future of the ash forests that occur across much of the state. Of particular concern is the impact EAB will have on the ecology and functioning of black ash swamps, which cover over one million acres in Minnesota and represent the state’s most common ash forest type. Black ash trees grow and thrive in swamps and occupy a unique wet niche where few other tree species grow.
